More Advice, please.

His lips are moving soo...
Yeah, he's either full of it and misinformed. A WDH doesn't magically make the tongue lighter, it just moves some of the weight forward.

Many of us have suffered through too little a tow vehicle.
None of us will ever repeat that mistake.

Don't ever believe the salesman. They will have you pulling an 18-wheeler with a golf cart, and swear that it will work.

Don't ever believe the salesman. They will have you pulling an 18-wheeler with a golf cart, and swear that it will work.

Remember, the salesman has only one person's interest...HIS! All he cares about is making a sale so he can earn a commission. Listen to the people here. They have decades of experience and only want what will be an enjoyable RV experience for you.

A weight distributing hitch transfers weight from the tongue to the front wheels of the tow vehicle as well as the trailer wheels. A properly set up hitch will actually put downward pressure on the front and rear springs of the tow vehicle.You can actually measure the front and rear fender heights before and after hook up and should see a difference.

So, your salesman may be technically right that some of the hitch weight may be transferred back to the trailer, some would be transferred to the front wheels, so he is exaggerating the results.

I don't remember a discussion in the previous thread about battery weight on the tongue of the trailer, making the actual tongue weight 50+ pounds higher than the published weight.

I figured it wasn't quite true. Frustrating that a lot of stuff related to what a person can tow is misleading. From the stated tow capacities, to the manufacturer websites, to the salespeople.

I assumed battery/water/propane all have to be added as cargo, but I don't know what to expect that to way...

The real magic spec is GCWR, Gross Combined Weight Rating. This is the fully loaded weight of the tow vehicle and the trailer.

Is exceeding going to mean instant death ? No. It will likely mean shorter life on the engine/transmission and overall vehicle.

Isn’t this the salesperson who said “buy it today or no free hitch?”

Even though they made it work, at 2 mph, it was likely an RV salesman that convinced someone that a Toyota pickup was suitable for towing the space shuttle.
So if we could all stand travelling at 2 mph, and have a police escort clear the streets for us, we can tow what those salesmen tried to sell us.

“From the stated tow capacities, to the manufacturer websites,“

I don’t agree. You being new were looking for the magic number when it’s really a series of weights, capacities and length that together determine what you can tow safely. Your TV can pull that trailer...engine, transmission, rear end etc. Your TV’s suspension however can only safely...lift.... Next? Short TVs mean buying a short TT...think wheel base. So, if you found a 4,000 pound 40 foot TT we would also be saying “no.”

oyarsa wrote:
I figured it wasn't quite true. Frustrating that a lot of stuff related to what a person can tow is misleading. From the stated tow capacities, to the manufacturer websites, to the salespeople.

I assumed battery/water/propane all have to be added as cargo, but I don't know what to expect that to way...

Battery= 60->75 lbs, 5 gal Propane cylinder, filled = 37 lbs, water = 8.6 lbs/gal.